Flags

When flags representing Mexico, South Korea, eco-justice and gays and lesbians were stolen from St. Luke's of the Mountains Episcopal Church - leaving just the American flag standing - the message was conspicuous and unwanted. So on Sunday, as community leaders gathered to reinstall the flags after weeks of fundraising, the message to the perpetrators was just as clear: “You brought the community back together again,” one said. Speaking to the crowd during the dedication on Sunday, church Vicar Bryan Jones said his congregation offered up donations to replace the flags the day after the flags were stolen on May 19. “They left one flag standing and that was an American flag,” Jones said.

LA CRESCENTA — The Crescenta Valley Town Council will research the feasibility of providing safety flags at crosswalks throughout town to help pedestrians alert motorists to their presence, members said at a public meeting Thursday. Councilwoman Robbyn Battles borrowed the idea of using safety flags while she vacationed with her husband at Kirkland, Wash. There, she said, pedestrians pick up orange flags from a bucket and return them to another bucket waiting on the other end of the crosswalk.

Amber Willard GLENDALE -- American flags at local fire stations will return to half-staff this morning to honor their New York comrades who were killed Sept. 11 while responding to terrorist attacks there. The lowering of the flags comes with permission from city and county officials. Initially, the International Assn. of Fire Chiefs had submitted the request to President George W. Bush, who approved it with the contingency that local officials had to also sign off on the request.

Alex Coolman CITY HALL -- The Planning Commission will meet today to discuss an ordinance dealing with the display of flags. The ordinance has been in the spotlight because of the case of Kelly Khoury, whose Pacific Avenue gas station at one time flew as many as 20 flags. The Planning Commission in February rejected possible ordinances that would restrict only the size of flags flown by businesses. Commissioners say they hope to restrict the number of flags that can be displayed.

Jenna Bordelon FREMONT PARK -- Shell station owner Kelly Khoury has more than 20 American flags snapping in the breeze around, above and under the gas station canopy at 625 Pacific Ave. The city has ordered him to take almost all of them down. "It ceases to become a patriotic thing and becomes a commercial one," Neighborhood Services Administrator Sam Engel said. The city has received four separate complaints about the flags, he said. City officials will allow Khoury to keep two flags per street frontage.

Alex Coolman CITY HALL -- Residents should feel free to fly as many flags as they like, the Planning Commission said Monday as it shot down restrictions on the way such banners can be displayed. The meeting looked like it would see strict limits set on the display of flags. Commissioners in February rejected a pair of ordinances related to flag flying as being excessively lenient. But on Monday, they seemed to be in a tolerant mood. "I would not be comfortable in any way, shape or form limiting anyone's ability to display the American flag," Commissioner Nancy Burke said.

Happy Tuesday! As you get ready to relax and watch the fireworks tomorrow, check out what's happened in the 818. A church in La Crescenta replaced a group of flags, representing diversity, in a ceremony Sunday. Participants said the theft had the opposite of its intended effect, bringing people together. Glendale News-Press A writer mourns the loss of Chez Nous in Toluca Lake, the third closure of an eatery in that neighborhood in a year. North Hollywood Patch The Mutual UFO Network of Los Angeles is taking a July 1 sighting of a... something...

? Contributed by Tricia Flynn On Thursday, Oct. 16, St. James the Less Catholic School received a new American flag and California State flag as donations from a St. James family and the school’s own Girl Scout Troop 626. The flags that were being raised every morning by the school’s student council members were old, torn, and ready for retirement. The flags had flown over the school for many years so new ones were appreciated by principal Susan Romero. Father Ed Dover, after finishing Mass with the whole school, took the students and their teachers outside where he led them in a Blessing of the Flags ceremony, a ceremony that is very symbolic for a Catholic school.

Two front-page News-Press stories regarding the flying of flags at a local gas station were incorrect. The stories were Saturday's "City staff gives thumbs down to Old Glories" and Monday's "Old Glory keeps flying." In the stories, the News-Press reported that city code enforcement officials on Friday cited a Glendale gas station attendant for flying American flags at his station, and that the officials ordered the owner not to fly the flags. City officials were not contacted by the News-Press for comment on the alleged incident, an error in direct violation of this newspaper's firm belief in balanced and fair reporting.

After reading Francesca DuPage's letter regarding the lack of American flags flying on Memorial Day, I must say I completely agree with her ("Lack of flags is disheartening," Tuesday). It's woefully shameful beyond description. To answer her rhetorical question, I do think that it's an apathy borne out of a general narcissism and a sense of entitlement corrupting American culture as of late. More and more, America isn't a country that provides and protects liberty and is worthy of our allegiance to it, rather it's merely a vehicle to achieve whatever materialistic desires we have.

Gusty winds, low humidity and expected high temperatures Wednesday prompted the National Weather Service to issue a red flag warning from Ventura to Orange counties. The conditions were considered a “high fire weather concern," the weather service said. Forecasters said winds could reach up to 40 mph in mountain areas with gusts up to 65 mph later in the day. Isolated gusts up to 75 mph could blow over western peaks, forecasters said. Winds could reach up to 60 mph in the coastal foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, the Los Angeles Times reports . In the canyons, winds could reach 25 mph with periodic gusts up to 40 mph. The high winds have prompted fire and police agencies to remind the public to be prepared should a wildfire break out and to drive safely through high-wind areas.

Good morning, locals! Today is Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014. The Glendale-area can expect to see a high of 84 degrees and a low of 48, according to forecasters at the National Weather Service . We're rounding up the top news items in the region: The U.S. House of Representatives passed a provision yesterday, inserted by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), that aims to reduce helicopter noise in the airspace over Los Angeles County, including the San Fernando Valley , where residents have complained about the noise for years.

With summer-like temperatures and gusty winds forecast, a red-flag warning is in effect for much of Southern California through Wednesday. Building high pressure is expected to create an "extended moderate to strong Santa Ana wind event" across Los Angeles and Ventura counties through Wednesday afternoon, with potential gusts of over 60 mph in the mountains and up to 50 mph in the valleys, according to the National Weather Service. The high winds and low humidity, along with built-up stores of dry fuel and a lack of rain, prompted the weather service to issue the red-flag warning -- meaning critical fire conditions -- for all of Ventura County and most of Los Angeles County, according to the Los Angeles Times . Temperatures are expected to increase as the week wears on, with the potential to set records.

A red flag fire warning for strong to moderate Santa Ana winds and low relative humidity has been issued across Southern California, the National Weather Service said. The agency said temperatures will be in the 90s in inland areas and that wind gusts up to 70 mph are possible for mountains in Ventura and Los Angeles counties through Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Times . The Los Angeles County Fire Department will be staffing 22 additional firefighter positions as well as two strike teams of fire engines and lighter brush patrol trucks, Inspector Anthony Akins said.

Katherine Gould recently enjoyed a thrilling ride on Magic Mountain's fast-zooming, forward-and-backward-rotating, face-down-plunging X2 roller coaster. Then she underwent a frustrating experience trying to recover from Magic Mountain's lost-and-found department the smartphone that had gone flying from her pocket at some point during all that zooming, rotating and plunging. "I honestly didn't think I'd get my phone back," Gould, 45, told the Los Angeles Times . "But I did expect at least an attempt at customer service.

To fly the American flag is an honor and privilege to all of us who are patriotic and love this country. Persons who would deprive the citizens of this country their right to fly the flag of the United States should understand that they do not own the flag and they do not own the flagpole. So if the citizen wishes to fly “Old Glory” they should not be deprived of this right just because someone has a grudge or just doesn't like the country that is supporting them. We have to keep the rights and privileges of this country and not allow others to change them.

Red flag warnings were issued Wednesday across Southern California as heat and dry winds were expected to turn Los Angeles and Ventura County mountains and valleys into a tinderbox. The National Weather Service said the red flag warnings would be in effect through Thursday for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the Santa Monica Mountains, the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys and Ventura County valleys, the L.A. Times reported. Temperatures on Friday could rise past 100 degrees from Burbank to Pasadena, according to the weather service.

What was supposed to be a drier, gustier day across some parts of Southern California - prompting a red-flag fire warning from forecasters - won't be as dry and gusty as anticipated. The National Weather Service has canceled its red-flag warning for the Los Angeles and Ventura county mountains, as well as valley areas in the Santa Clarita region and Ventura County. The warning was expected to expire early Tuesday afternoon, but was canceled by 9 a.m. Monday. The reason, meteorologist Bill Forwood said, is because the weather conditions didn't develop as forecasters expected.

A red flag warning has been issued until 6 p.m. Tuesday for parts of Los Angeles County, including local mountains and the Santa Clarita Valley, as wind gusts and dry conditions increase the threat of fire. Wind gusts on Monday could reach 50 mph in the mountains before starting to subside on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. Temperatures in the tri-city area are expected to warm into the mid-80s through Wednesday before clouds return, bringing with them a 30% chance of rain Thursday evening, the weather service said.

The National Weather Service has extended a red flag warning for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties because of high winds and low humidity, which have elevated the risk of wildfires. The warning, first issued at 3 a.m. Thursday, was set to expire at 6 p.m. Friday but has been extended until 2 p.m. Saturday, Los Angeles County fire officials said. Sustained winds of up to 20 mph and gusts of up to 40 mph are forecast, and an additional 150 firefighters have been positioned throughout Los Angeles County as a precaution, said Tony Imprenda, a spokesman for the county fire department.